FA to probe Blues brawl

LONDON - Chelsea face an English FA investigation into a vicious brawl that marred a training-ground friendly between the Premier League club's reserves and United Arab Emirates side Al-Ahli.

LONDON - Chelsea face an English FA investigation into a vicious brawl that marred a training-ground friendly between the Premier League club's reserves and United Arab Emirates side Al-Ahli.

The practice match behind closed doors at Chelsea's Cobham training base on Wednesday was abandoned after just 35 minutes after Chelsea's players were reportedly assaulted with karate kicks, knee-high tackles and had their hair pulled out and eyes gouged.

A two-footed tackle above the knee on Chelsea left-back Ben Gordon sparked the row, which left Chelsea defender Jack Cork, now on loan at Coventry, sporting a black eye after he was repeatedly hit while in a headlock.

The fracas was captured by Chelsea's TV channel but the club has since removed all references to the game from its official website.